VIKINGS WEEK TO WEEK

Sunday, September 26, 2010

CASTING NEWS FROM MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, SUPER 8, AND MORE

The fourth Mission: Impossible is set to begin production in December. Obviously, a villain would be necessary for the show to go on. With Jeremy Renner already signed on to play Tom Cruise's right hand man and Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg returning to the franchise, a new uber villain was needed to square off against the team of elite government operatives.

Word has dropped that unknown actor Michael Nyvquist has been cast to fill the villain vacancy (via The Hollywood Reporter). The Swedish actor's most notable role comes from the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which is being remade for American audiences in the coming years. While Nyvquist just completed a film with John Singleton called Abduction, his role in the newest Mission: Impossible will definitely be his big introduction to the Hollywood scene.

Also to join the Mission: Impossible IV cast as a Russian Agent is Vladimir Mashkov. He is best known from his roles in Behind Enemy Lines and the television show Alias (via The Wrap). Another addition to the crew is Paula Patton. The actress is set play "a young operative who works with Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character" (via Deadline). Patton got recognition from her role in the Academy Award nominated film Precious. I saw Patton in Déjà vu starring opposite Denzel Washington, and she is a fine actress. With the cast lined up, and locations for shooting being scouted, it is safe to assume all things are a go on the newest installation of Mission: Impossible.

Next up in the casting news is the stunning Emma Watson joining the Marilyn Monroe biopic called My Week with Marilyn (via The Playlist). The film is based on the memoir written by Colin Clark. Watson will play Lucy, "a wardrobe assistant working behind the scenes during the making of The Prince And The Showgirl in 1956." The role is said to not be very big, but this will be her first step outside the shadow of her role as a muggle-born wizard.

All of us know Watson as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films because that is her only role, ever (besides voicing a character in the animated film The Tales of Despereaux). With Potter wrapping up its final production this past spring, it's great to see Watson moving on. It would be a shame if she didn't continue her career as an actress, because I love staring at her.

Quickly, I wanted to mention Leslie Mann joining the roster for The Change Up, the comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman and Olivia Wilde. Barrett recently wrote a piece on Wilde joining the cast, and this past Wednesday the movie got much better with the addition of Mann.

Lastly, I wanted to give readers a heads up by letting everyone know that Super 8, the J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg project, has now started shooting. For those that don't know anything about Super 8, follow the link above to check out the enticing teaser trailer for the movie. Super 8 is set in 1979 with the movie "starting out with a group of kids playing around making movies with their Super 8 cameras and accidentally capture something … sinister, possibly alien, on film."

In recent weeks the cast has fattened to included Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, and Noah Emmerich. The children will be played by the talented Elle Fanning, Gabriel Basso, Zach Mills, Ryan Lee, Riley Griffiths, and Joel Courtney. The most recent addition to Super 8 is AJ Michalka which she announced via Twitter. The breathtaking blonde Michalka was most recently in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones (which was an absolutely terrible movie I might add), and will also be in Disney's upcoming film Secretariat.

Well, that is all the official casting news I will throw at you for the moment. Some may have heard that Emma Stone has been put on the short list to star across Andrew Garfield in the Spider-Man reboot, but I don't feel like writing anything up about speculation. She is "reported" to be testing for the role of Mary Jane, but Sony has declined to comment and there is no official word. Filming is set to start later this year, so when something concrete breaks, I will have the news for you. Until then, Goodnight, and Good Luck.